The Rat Race
by A Northern Irish man
Summary: Within M.I.9 there is a special unit. A unit that's soul purpose is to not exist. Deniable and Black Operation. The kind of things the British Government don't want to know about but know needs done. When it is discovered that there is a huge leak in M.I.9 this non-existent unit is tasked with finding them and putting them down...For good. OC
1. A Blood Stained Shirt

**Well here we are. Some of you may be familiar with some of my other M. work. For those who are not familiar, I bring a degree of darkness and gritty realism to the series. I promised myself I'd finish my M. fanfic behind but I got inspired by the fanfic "Organisation 8" and "Root and Branch" (I'm not sure if promoting other authors is allowed, please indicate if it is not) The story will follow a different spy and will have little, to no, relation to the original. Sorry to any Blane/Daisy fans. Enjoy.**

* * *

Another blow to my face sent my face flying to the right. Then another in quick concession on the other side flung my head in the other direction. I was then left with a break, allowing me to bow my head. The blood gushing from my nose dripped down my once sparkling white shirt, 'luckily' the blood didn't really show on the skinny black tie I was wearing. I could taste the blood in my mouth that was also running down my chin. I wiggled my wrists and legs, seeing if I could get free from duct tape they had used to bind me to the chair.

Bam. Break was over.

They continued my beating with constantly punching of my face and jabbing of my ribs. After about a solid hour of pummelling they stopped and I could hear a quiet discussion occurring at the other end of the room. I looked to see if I could gather any more information but room was almost pitch black, the only light sawn down on me. All I could make out was the vague figures of two SKUL henchmen, with their black uniform, red beret and belt. I couldn't make out any distinct feature. All I could really do was listen.

"I don't know Jackson. He's only a kid." One man said.

"A Kid? That 'kid' put at least 20 of our men into the ground. So this 'kid' can burn in hell for all I care Benny." Jackson replied.

"Ok, Ok. I see your point. Here, I'm going to check up on stuff in the server room."

Benny left through the vault like door. Now it was just the two of us. Jackson slowly approached me. I could barely see him but I could make out the menacing grin on his face. He swung at me; the force from his fist tossed the chair, and me, only it's side. I heard a smash from the chair leg that my left leg was bound to. This was my chance. He brought the chair back up as I pretending the chair leg was still attached. He leaned forward towards me with fire in his eyes.

Now or never.

I thrust my leg up, kicking him in the groan. He instantly recoiled, clutching his crown jewels. The expression on his face went from anger straight to agony. I used my free leg to hop backward, crashing into the wall in an attempt to break the rest of the chair. First time I heard some minor snapping of wood. I did it again, I broke off the armrest; free my left arm, and the rest of the chair legs. Just in time as Jackson was beginning to compose himself. He charged at me with great fury. I struck him with an upper cut then kicking his leg in, sending him to the ground. I quickly grabbed and sharp piece of the broken wood and ended it by spearing it into his back. I went about freeing myself the pieces of wood still taped to me.

I rolled up my sleeves, loosened my tie and undid my top button, giving me space to breath. Breathing however wasn't going to be too easy, I had at least a couple broken ribs and so my breath with wheezy and painful. I searched Jackson's body for anything useful, a standard issue Akdal pistol, a Combat knife, a radio communicator, a swipe card for the door and a about £25 from his wallet. I dragged Jackson towards the door. I banged on the frantically in an attempt to attractive some more men. I kept my back close to the wall and lifted him up in front of him; he was a pretty burly man so it was hell lifting him.

The door opened and entered to guards, Benny and another. I called out to them and they spun around. I thrust Jackson onto the guard and quickly through the knife at Benny, impacting his throat. He began coughing and choking and collapsed before he could get a single round off. I got the knife out of Benny and knelt by the other guard, slicing his neck. I inspected Benny and took his weapon, an EMERK machine gun. Now fully armed I ventured out into the rest of the complex.

A long dull corridor met me. It was deserted for just a few moments and suddenly it became flooded with henchmen, firing madly at me. I dived behind a filing cabinet and bided my time. I waited until their rate of fire slowed and stopped as they began to reload. Once this moment came I leant out from cover and picked off as many as I could. They opened fire again and got back. I observed my surroundings and noticed a door just across the way with a sign saying 'Server Room' next to it. Bingo. Just what I came here for. I waited for a moment then sprinted for the room. I burst in and used the swipe card to activate the electronic locks and secure the room. The room was filled with a bulky black towers, with hundreds of tiny flashing lights and with cables running in and out of them. I had a quick search around the room then went about my mission. I began to shoot up the servers, making them smash and smoke. I filled them with lead until my gun began to make a clicking sound. Then I simply bashed them frantically with the butt of my gun. The radio suddenly began to crackle

*All units be advised. Target must be taken in alive*

There was no way I was letting that happen. I readied myself and made my way through a door at the other end of the room. I exited back into corridor to the rest of the SKUL guards. One jumped forward to punch me but I used my EMERK like a baseball bat and beat him over the head. More men came at me and I fended them off.

Kick. Punch. Duck. Swing. Block

After I was able to knock out the group I tossed down the EMERK and caught my breath. After a few wheezy breaths I looked up and saw around 30 SKUL guards in the distance by the vault door. I took a heavy pulp and sprinted down the corridor while they charged after me, their feet crashing against the concrete was like thunder. I took out the Akdal shot blindly behind me as I keep running down their seamlessly infinitely long corridor. Finally there seemed to been a end, there was a small green door with window by it. The door had a keypad and there was no time for me to try guess the code. I instantly came up with an idea and concentrated my fire on the window. Once I shot a big enough hole in it I holstered the gun and prepared to leap through. As I got a close enough to get a clear dive I heard a scream

"Waltz. Don't shoot. We need him alive!" The voice yelled, I presumed he was a commanded.

As I began to jump through I heard a single shot and while in mid air a felt a brief single. I got through landed on the floor on the side. I instantly jumped to my feet and continued down around corridor. This time however it was much smaller and lead to a tall staircase. As I made my way up the stairs some didn't seem right. I glanced down and noticed a growing blood patch on my shirt. I had been shot and was now bleeding quite profusely. I held my hand over the wound to stop the bleeding as continued to climb. Step by step I couldn't help but feel a tad woozy. I came to the top where there was a door. I tumbled through it and emerged into a filthy alleyway. Now my vision was blurry and my head was light. I stumbled down the alley towards an opening. As I got on the street my sight was almost completely gone. I kept going. My sight was close to gone but I was able to see the car…..Just before it hit me.

* * *

**So there you have it. Hope you enjoyed. I'll write a few more chapters and see what kind of attention and feedback it gets, so don't forget to Review**


	2. How Long Was I Out?

**Beating People? No I don't. Its not like I'm projecting some kind of childhood trauma *Nervous Laugh*...So anyway yeah I hadn't anticipated such good response so soon. Don't usually get that. Gladrag, you actually raise a very fair point. I guess I didn't really think through the last part. See I know the character much more than the readers, He's very accustomed to beatings and a high pain threshold. I will ensure I make this kind of stuff more clear next time. And when I said 'Realistic' I didn't mean everything will be pin point plausible, I meant it as in a real life in espionage people would get seriously harmed or killed. In the TV show they always seemed to be alright in the end. That's why I liked your story, shit hits the fan and people gets hurt. Anyway. Enjoy**

* * *

Beep

I took a deep snorting breath through my nose, my ribs still ached. The sharp white bright from above and I clenched my eyes. I slowly opened my eyes to try adjusting to the light. As I opened I became fully awake.

There was the beeping of a heart monitor to the left of me. it was a normal rhythm. The illuminating light above sawn upon the limy green walls, bringing out its colour and giving the room a daunting feel. I looked down and saw I was in pale blue hospital gown. My clothes were nowhere to be seen though I doubt they were going to keep blood soaked shirt and tie. On my wrist there was a hospital tag, it had a blood type and the date I was brought to the hospital, No name or address, instead they had just written down 'N/A.' I started looking around, I needed to get out of there. I tried to get out of the bed but my legs were too stiff and completely locked up. I fell back down, all I could do it just lie there.

I lay there for a few minutes, trying to figure out how long I had been there. 1 day? 1 week? 1 year? Have I been in a coma? It's not exactly the kind of thing you can simply tell. There was a creaking of the door and my eyes instantly snapped to it. Entered a middle-aged man in a white doctors coat. The man looked old but had a degree of freshness in his being. He didn't have wrinkles and his hair was a dark grey and slicked back, he also had a thin and fine beard. He looked at me as he walked towards my bed and looked down and studied my chart as he reached me.

"Hi…" He said, hoping for me to say my name. I look at him blankly. "My name is Dr. Hooper, I've been the doctor assigned to you since you arrived a few days ago." He left another pause, expecting me to respond. Still silent. "Now you came quite seriously wounded. The car collision did some damage to your legs and cracked to some of your ribs however that wasn't the main damage. During the surgery we found your main injury was in your side, where there was some significant blood lose. During the operation we found some bullet fragments. Now we know the answer but I just want to hear you say it. Where you shot?" I kept quiet and looked down, avoiding eye contact. He took a heavy sigh. "The bullet made a relatively clean shot. It missed all arteries. We've patched you up and put you on some painkillers. We've also hooked you up to an IV to replaced the blood you've already lost." It was starting to get quite tense and awkward because I wasn't responding to anything he was saying. "Right, I'm going to be blunt. We need to know your name. We can't find you on the system at all so we can't contact your parent or guardian." I pretended to get quite upset. He sat down on my bed. "Look, I get it. All this, everything that has happened, it's obviously been very tough on you but you need to help me out." He handed me a piece of paper. "You don't have to say a word. Just write down your name." He took out a pen and went to hand it to me. I reached out to grab it, my hand shaking, pretending to me in a state of shock. As I took it I dropped it. He looked sympathetically and bent down to pick it up. As he was down to get it, with my free hand, I elbowed him in the back of the head, rendering him unconscious. I flopped onto the floor with a thud. I paused and kept completely silent, hoping no one heard the bang.

I unhooked my IV and moved myself to the edge of the bed, my legs still locked and hanging off the side. I lent forward onto my feet, hoping my legs to would kick in. Just before I went to stand I glanced up and saw myself in a mirror. I looked at mess. A dark black left eye, stitches on my right eyebrow and a swollen fat lip. As I stood I instantly fell forward like a tree being cut down. I hit the floor with a smack. I lifted my head looking around and I noticed a set of sky blue hospital scrubs with a pair of white slippers placed upon a small table. I crawled over and grabbed them; I needed to get out of that gown. I slowly got changed, making sure not to strain myself. I then crawled to the door and stretched upward to grab the door handle. A opened it slowly, the tendons in my arms throbbed. I opened it slightly and peaked my head into the corridor. The coast was clear and there was a wheelchair across the way. I opened it further and quickly slid myself across the corridor to the wheelchair. I struggled to get into the chair but I eventually got in. I had flown stealth plane so in comparison this wasn't exactly the finest get away vehicle. Being stealthy in a wheelchair wasn't exactly an option but I did my best to keep a low profile. I wheeled my way through the hospital, following signs and thin coloured lines to find my way out but first I needed to make a call. At the reception I saw a payphone and I wheeled my way to it. I hadn't any coins but luckily HQ was a free phone line. I picked up the receiver and entered the number _###99761155007*_ It rang and rang, I kept watch encase anyone noticed me. Finally someone picked up.

"Watch Maker?" I whispered. "I've got a Skeleton Clock that needs fixing." There was a long pause.

"Roger that. 3.50." A deep, croaky voice replied before hanging up.

I quickly made my way out of the hospital before anyone noticed but I soon after I left I couldn't help but feel drained. The blood transfusion wasn't complete. I tried to hurry to the safehouse as my head became lighter and limbs became weaker. I wheeled faster and faster, bolting past pedestrians going about their day. I was almost there. I wheeled up to a clock shop, 'Tock's Ticker.' I used what little of my energy I had left to burst through the door. The shop was filled head to toe with different types of clocks and was absent of any other sound apart from ticking. A single man stood in the centre of the shop in an ivy green shirt and beige sweater-vest. He was staring at me blankly. I couldn't feel my body and my breathing was irratic.

"Z-001-X. Reporting back. Recurring medical attention." I said heavily. I faded away and slumped forward, falling out of my chair.

My eyes snapped open as I sat bolt up right. As soon as I sat up I immediately regretted my decision as my side throbbed. I looked around to investigate my surroundings. I was in my studio apartment, with its shiny wooden flooring and crimson red walls. I had been lying on my light grey fabric sofa. I looked down on myself. They changed me into a black t-shirt and jeans and hooked up another IV for me that ran into my hand. Something was strange, all the curtains and blinds were drawn and the room was dimly lit by the wall-mounted lights. My eyes moved towards the coffee table by the sofa, it had a note and a tub of painkillers. I leaned over and picked up the note. '_Redress gunshot wounds every 5 hours. Take painkillers. Legs have relaxed. Practice moving your toes before walking around_.' I lay back down and rested myself. I focused down on my feet and wiggled my toes. At first I could barely move them but with practice I got to wiggle them in quick concession. I slowly eased myself up to stand and I pushed myself up. My legs felt uneasy for a moment but I soon found my balance. I slowly made my way to the kitchen, rolling the IV along with me.

I got to the fridge and took out a carton of Chocolate Milk. I went to open a cabinet with my other hand but I felt a tugging which stung, my tube wasn't long enough. Some how they had attached the shortest tube of all time to my hand. I set down the carton on the table and opened the cabinet and got out a pack of pink wafer biscuits, I never understood why people didn't eat them anymore, they are magnificent. I carried my lunch back into the living room. Sat myself down and got comfy. I rummaged through the sofa cracks to grab the control. I flicked on the Plasma TV and put on the 'CHUCK' box set, I loved the show and had wanted to sit down and watch the entire series but in this line of work you were kept a very busy. I popped my pills, cracked open the chocolate milk and began munching on the pink wafers. After about an hour of pure bliss the elevator doors behind me opened and I could hear footsteps move closer towards me.

"Hey Spy Master." I said with a mouth full of wafer, "What disaster is it today?"

* * *

**There you go. Sorry if this wasn't terribly uneventful. I kind of panicked when people started liking the story so soon and I needed to get a chapter out. I haven't watched the new series but I watched a trailer, it seemed rather gritty but that could just be the trailer. Seddielover12, what's it like? I hoped you enjoyed, please Review**


	3. Contemplation

**Well here we are. Another chapter. Again not very action packed but you know, I'm just trying to build the world for this story at this point. Sorry if it seems uneventful or slow paced. **

* * *

"What disaster is it today?" I sarcastically asked. There was no answer. I leant backwards to investigate. From my upside-down view stood the Spy Master along with Chief Agent Dexter Kane. "Must be important." I went back to watching TV

"Look Striker. This is serious." The Spy Master began to say. I raised my hand and signalled her to stop. "We need you to get set up for another mission."

"Can't." I responded after taking in a mouthful of the chocolate milk. She stopped in her tracks and took a slight gasp.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"Busy."

"Busy!? Striker this is important."

"So is this." I pointed at the screen. "I really wish I could be like Chuck. Lovable, witty, smart, charming and look at all those friends and family he has. Who wouldn't want that?"

"Right. Listen Yorkie." Kane said sternly as he stepped forward to loom over me.

Dexter Kane was a Chief Agent at M.I.9. Kane was Derby man, born and breed. At 6.2 ft with jet black Ivy League haircut and a strong beard Kane was not a man to be reckoned with. He was in a spotless white linen suit with a black shirt underneath, no tie. He was certainly a cool looking fellow and in general people thought he was awesome, who could blame them. He became a field operative at the age of 18 and was part of numerous operations, combating a wide range of different enemies, from the IRA to African pirates, from Serbian arms dealers to a ex-soviet extremist groups. At the age of 25 he was made a Team Leader, which is an incredible young age for someone to gain this role. As a Team Marshal he helped to recruit various agents and compile skilled teams. Kane was the team leader of operatives when tackling several internal Islamic extremists, most of which the public would ever know about. And now at the age of 30, Dexter Kane was a Chief Agent and was a head advisor for the Spy Master, a role that led to a rivalry between him and some guy called Stark. Kane would have been highly decorated, if intelligence officers could be decorated.

"What Dex? I'm enjoying myself for once." Kane scrunched up his face. "You're welcome by the way. All that M.I.9 intel that got you," I pointed my finger up directly up him, "let get stolen, is gone. All the servers were destroyed and I took a bullet for your idiocy. That reminds me." I got up and pushed past Kane. I headed back to the kitchen and grabbed a medical kit from the cupboard. I opened it up lay out the equipment. I pushed up my t-shirt to reveal a massive bandage on my side. I slowly peeled it up and instantly spotted the stitches around the exit wound, it looked like when part of a shirt is scrunched up because of a loose thread, and I presumed the entry wound wasn't much better. I quickly applied another patch and took some more painkillers.

"You know you're only meant to take those pills every 12 hours." The Spy Master noted.

"Whatever." I made my way back to the sofa.

"You can't talk to her like that." Kane said with a slash of fury in his tone.

"Bite me."

"I can have you suspended Striker." He shouted. I tried to not laugh in his face.

"You can't suspend what doesn't actually exist." I patted him on the shoulder and sat back down. Kane was about to explode

"Dexter, Could you please give Striker and myself a moment." The Spy Master asked. Kane stormed into the elevator and left. She sat down next to me. "That information that was supposedly stolen from the agency. It wasn't stolen. It was given to them." She took a very deep breath. "Striker, we have a Rat in M.I.9."

"Well yeah." I took a bite of the biscuit. It was obvious. I was surprised it took them this long to figure it out. "And, what do you want me to do about it?"

"Striker, look. We need you."

"What you just can't one of your little school units?" She didn't reply, "Or one of the many emotional damaged people recruit?"

"Listen. We don't know who this Rat is. We don't know what agencies they've got their fingers in. And we have no idea how deep their ring goes. We don't know whom we can trust. I only have a handful I can trust and even their loyalty can be questioned."

"You know, I feel for you. I really do." I say sarcastically. "But I'm off duty." And I went back to watching TV. She took a heavy sigh and began to leave

"You may not have much concern for your own life but think about the people who care about their lives. Innocent people."

Then she was gone.

I continued watching Chuck but I just couldn't focus. What the Spy Master said just really stuck in my head. I may not have had an actual real relationship with any member of the public but still. Sure I didn't exist but they did. All those people living their mundane lives, trying to make a living and paying taxes, going to the park and connecting with people, living a life of total normality without having to knowing the fact that you could die at any given moment. I would kill for that kind of life, I really would, seeing how I seem to kill for much less. After another day of resting and contemplating I was off the IV and was soon to be off on my adventure, carrying on my long death wish. I grabbed my black Harrington jacket and went out.

Walking across the Austin Bridge I decided to take in surroundings. Sure it was pale, grey and overall miserable, I guess it was just something I could relate to. I leant the railings looked down into the dark flowing vein that was the Thames. I took out my phone and called The Spy Master. I waited patiently for her to pick up.

"Striker?" She instant questioned.

"I'm in." I replied

"Great. You can come in tomorrow first thing for a briefing."

"To risky. We'll meet. On my terms." I finished and hung up right away. I dropped the phone, stomped on it and then tossed it into the River before walking away.

* * *

**Yes I know, rather uneventful but don't worry, It'll get better. To anyone who is confused on the specifics of the food and TV I'll be honest, that's pretty much me. All I've done this week has been watching Chuck and consuming chocolate milk and pink wafers, well all that and write this. I should be going to lectures though but It'll be fine...Right? Please Review.**


	4. Somethings Not Right Here

**I've realised I've not really said much about Striker, this is because it's from his perspective and he doesn't like talking about himself. If you've had trouble coming up with a general idea of what he might look I've imagined him to look like Andrew Garfield in "Red Riding 1974" google image it to get an idea of his look. No I'm not ill, just rather lazy. Nargle, it's called "Rat Race" because the phrase 'Rat' is a term usually used to describe a traitor and I put 'Race' in purely because it sounded good, gives the title a nice ring. Anyway...enjoy!**

* * *

It was chilly on that rooftop but I didn't really mind, I just took another drag of my cigarette. I paced back and forth waiting for the Spy Master to show up. All I had for company was the billowing smoke and steam from the air vents and the thousand of satellites that were scattered across the hundreds of buildings that surrounded me. I could hear the clanging of the metal staircase just before the large emergency door to the roof opened. Slowly, the Spy Master and Kane emerged onto the roof both looking rather serious. As they arrived I gestured to some deck chairs. We all sat down, they had trouble getting comfortable, deck chairs didn't really fit in with their stylish spy lifestyles.

"So?" I asked, expecting them to begin. "Where do we begin?"

"The informant clearly has access to top clearance Intel, either they're high up the food chain or they're ring is big enough." The Spy Master explained.

"Have we got any leads?"

"We've got one lead. Chief Agent Kane, explain the situation."

"Right, This is what we've got," Kane began as he took out a small see-through bag with a phone in it and a thin file. "We intercepted a called to a known SKUL safehouse 10 hours before the M.I.9 facility was breached and the data stolen. We traced the call to this burner cell at Brighton, corner of Lower Rock Gardens and St. James's Street."

"That's all we've got. Striker, we need you to take it from here. I'm sure you can do it."

I sat and thought for a moment before getting up and pacing some more. I stood on the edge of the roof and looked out across London as I took another drag of my cigarette. I came to my conclusion.

"This is what we're going to do," I say barely looking round at them. "I'm activating Blizzard."

"Are you sure that's necessary?" The Spy Master questioned completely shocked. Kane was completely confused, he'd never heard of _Blizzard_.

"Absolutely. You may not know who you can trust but I do. This is what I'll need." I turned around to look at them and began my list; "I'll need complete blackout on all of our activities. Full independence on funds, I'll use the off shore accounts that have the collective seized drug money. Access to all files. Overhaul on all authority, including yours." The Spy Master looked uncomfortable but she understood, "And access to all equipment and weapons." I finished my cigarette and flicked the butt the roof. As we began to leave I added one last thing. "And from now on, you do not contact me. If there is anything to discuss I will come to you." We left and parted ways.

I walked down a long narrow street, it was almost completely silent. I could sense was something going on. Through my years of training I'd learnt to know when I was being watched and this was one of those times. There was a traffic warden on the other side of the street walking straight past to cars that were clearly parked on double yellow. One of those cars had tinted windows and about 100 metres back I had passed a van that also had tinted windows, two tinted cars on the same street wasn't normal. There was a woman moving towards me, she was pushing a pram and talking mooshy baby talk to her child. She kept looking into the pram at the baby and didn't look up once. No real mother would blindly push your child down the street; she'd keep watch where she was going to ensure there would be no damage to the baby. There was certainly something odd about the surround area. I didn't like it. I didn't trust it. As I passed the woman I buried my hands into my jacket pockets and picked up my pace. I could hear a tiny squeak of the pram's rubber wheels as it came to a quick halt. I kept going. As I reached the main street, full of crowds and busy passing cars, I stopped and looked across the hectic road and saw the steps to the underground. I quickly looked behind me and the woman and the traffic warden staring right at me, they had been moving towards me but had now froze as I caught them red handed.

I jumped over the small railings and made my way on the road. I was instantly met by a wave of honking and screeching from car tyres. I darted my way across the road, having to wait for a car to pass or dodgy the ones that weren't taking any notice of me. I got to the other side and climbed the other railing. I looked back across the street and there was no sign of them. I surveyed my surrounding area, finally spotting sprinting across the small footbridge to get me my side. I continued my rush and hurried down the stairs into the underground. I weaved my way through the crowds, I would say it was rather rude but barging past people is the norm in the London underground. I leaped over the ticket barrier and sprinted down the tunnel to catch the train. I got to the platform and pretty much hurled myself through the doors before they shut. I got away clean. I found a seat and caught my breath. My side was starting to hurt again. I needed some more painkillers.

I lay around in my Studio, waiting for the painkillers to take effect and it also gave me time to think. Who were those people? SKUL? MI9? Part of this Rat's operation? Did they want to kill me? Scare me? Learn more about me? Either way, I've got work to do. As I stood I heard a ding, signalling the elevator was moving. I certainly wasn't expecting any guests and I didn't have friends that could just pop over. So after the early events of the day I took preliminary defensive precautions. I grabbed my Raging Bull Revolver, got up against the wall by the elevator door and waited. There was another ding and the doors slid open. The Spy Master walked out along with another woman, a young woman. I couldn't see her face and I didn't recognise her physical features. They walked forward and call for me.

"Striker? Are you here?" The Spy Master called out. I stepped forward from behind them, cocking my revolver as I pointed at the Spy Master's head. They both stopped dead in their tracks and the younger woman let out a light squeal. "Striker? What are you…"

"Why was I followed after the meet?" I interjected

"What?"

"Who were they?" I took a step close, the barrel moving closer to her head.

"Striker," The Spy Master turned around, "I have no idea what you're on about." I had known the Spy Master most of my life, I could tell when she was lying, and this time she wasn't. "I never positioned anyone outside our meet."

"Who else knew about the meet?"

"Well there was ourselves, Kane and a few other Chief Agents that are aware of the situation. And we have no idea if they've hacked our system to gather information. But not to worry, there is nothing that can lead to Project: Blizzard or to your existence. Now can you please stop point that monster of a gun at me?" I put the revolver back onto safety and lower it to my side.

"Alright. Now what did I say about not contacting me?" I argued

"I know but there was…"

"And who is she?" I interrupted once again. The woman slowly turned around, she had some files in her hands that she was holding up against her chest, gripping onto for dear life. "Are we just letting random people in her?" I pointed at her, the revolver being my pointing tool. She tensed up further despite it being on safety.

"Relax. This is Victoria Stone. I wanted to introduce you to her directly."

Victoria Stone seemed to be relatively young, could even be as young as me. She had long ginger hair, which went down to the shoulder, which was pinned back with a black hair clip. She had a soft blue shade of eyes and smooth and delicate looking skin. There was certainly something innocent about her. She was dress in a charcoal business suit with a skirt that stopped just at the top of the knees. It looked like as if she had modelled her business clothes after The Spy Master's.

"Are you trying to match us up?" I joked.

"No, no, I want Miss Stone to be part of the operation. The list of people I can trust keeps getting thinner and I just want to have my best on this. Striker I really want…"

"Ok, ok, I'll take her on. But she better of been black bagged on the way here."

"Thank you. Well I'll allow you to fill Victoria in with what you feel necessary."

And almost as soon as she had arrived, she was gone. Leaving us alone.

* * *

**Well I hope you enjoyed. I've imagined Victoria to look like Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) or Molly Quinn (Alexis Castle) let me know what you think of the 'casting' in the Reviews. Thanks.**


	5. Your Parents Named You That?

**Sorry. Been a while. Been super swamped with work. Piece of Advise, be very weary when you start a new fanfic because you never when your course is going to be getting 100% more demanding. Well hopefully I'll get a few chapters in this weekend, even if their a bit short and a tad eventful...sorry but I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

There is the ding as the elevator doors shut and there is a strong hum as it travels downwards. We avoid eye contact by looking in the opposite direction of one another. I can't see her but I could certainly feel a wave of fear off her. It was probably the revolver.

"So, shall we?" I break the silence as I tuck the gun back into the back of my trousers and gesture towards the sofa. She nervously made her way to it, clutching her files greatly close to her. She sits down, still looking nervous and very uncomfortable. She slowly but surely spreads the files out on the coffee table in front of her. While she slowly hesitated in pretty much everything she did, I went to the kitchen to grab a can of coke, I would have offered her a drink but I knew she's decline. I went back to the living room where there was still silence. I made my way to a small drawer unit I had, £30 at IKEA, bargain. I opened it up and took out a pack of cigarettes and a small orange bottle of painkillers. I took a couple of pills and washed them down with a drink. I began to light one up.

"I was told you were off painkillers?" She finally uttered.

"Yeah but it still kind of hurts, so I'm just continuing." I replied.

"Why aren't they in a medicine cabinet or something?" She continued to question me. One minute she's practically a mouse and suddenly I'm basically being interrogated, however not well if she was trying for that.

"I clever one." I took a puff of my cigarette. "Let me guess, you were part of Project: Prospect." She gave my a surprised look that said 'How did you know?' "They recruit promising kids and train them in analysis. So what was your IQ? 120? 130?"

"115 actually."

"Well, you can't always be right." I chuckled and continued to smoke. "Lets get down to business. This guys not going to execute himself." I continued to laugh. She continued to be unresponsive. It was tough crowd.

"Well we know a burner cell was found in Brighton, that's about it."

"What's the other file?"

"This is my file. Encase you wanted to go over it." She said as she handed it up to me.

"Thanks," I took the file and sat down next her. I pulled up an ashtray close to me on the coffee table and continued to smoke while I went through it. I positions my lip to blow to the side of me as not to blow smoke straight into her face. "Victoria Alexandria Stone. Born 23/07/1996. Born and raised in The Lake District. Daughter of Fredrick Stone, Engineer at Babcock International PLC, and Dr Harley Stone, Head of Research and Development at Novo Pharmaceutical LTD. No strong politic allegiances. Spent school life in Cheltenham Ladies' College. At higher education level studied Advanced Mathematics, Philosophy, Politics and Art." I looked up at her, "Art?"

"Yeah, its my passion." She answered. I gave out a light chuckle.

"Passion? You don't get passions in this line of word." I noted before continuing. "Recruited in final of Cheltenham to Project: Prospect. IQ was levelled at 115. Excelled in all tests and analysis work. Shown particular promise in the 6 degrees of separation theory. After 3 years in Prospect assigned analytical assistance to Spy Master and has been extremely effect in her role." I looked up again. "No wonder she trusts you with this."

"We've really bonded the past few months I been assigned to her."

"You help her get over the divorce?" I inquired. Her bottom lip quivered and her face went pale. She hesitated to speak. "Don't worry, I'm trained to pick up on these kinds of things. She swore you to secrecy about right?" she just nodded. "I haven't mention it to her, I didn't ask her about it. It's good she had a female shoulder to cry on." I closed the file and tossed down onto the table. I studded out my cigarette and stood up. "Right, time to go."

"What? Where? Don't you want to read the rest of my file?"

"Nah I'm sure it'll be fine. Where was it the call came from again?"

"St. James Street in Brighton. But we can't just go there, we don't have anything else to go on."

"We do. Gut feeling and brute force." I said checking the ammo in my Bull. She stood up, clearly partially against this plan but I guess the Master had told her about me 'spontaneous' actions.

"So we're just going to knock on door until we find something?"

"No. Knocking isn't exactly what this unit does."

"Unit?"

"I'll introduce you to them later." I answered while putting on my Huffington. Then I patted myself down, checking I had everything. Phone, Keys, Gun, Wallet, Badge, Knife, _Gum_. Good to go. At the last minute I realised something. I slowly turned to Victoria. "I'm gonna need to put a bag over your head on the way out of here?" She took an instantly dislike to the idea. "It's just that this place is a secure location and I need to keep it under wraps." I then rummaged through my drawers to find it. I took it out and gave it a quick sniff test, didn't smell repulsive so it passed. "It hasn't been washed in a while but it should be grand." I held up the bag, smiling, hoping she'd go for it.

"No." She huffed.

"Fine then. You just have to promise you'll never tell anyone this location." I stated as I put the bag away. I fished through my pockets and retrieved a pack of gum. "Well however about a piece of gum for the road?"

"Yeah sure." She smiled. I wriggled out a piece into her hand. She popped it into her mouth instantly. As she chewed as look of distaste spread across her face. "I think this gum is off, it tastes kind of weird. Hey aren't you going to have a piece?" Suddenly her eyes began to feel quite heavy and she toppled forward.

Next thing she knew she was somewhere else and was moving. Her eyes clamped open, her body jolted and she sat bolt up right. She was in the passenger seat of a mini, next to me but I was focusing on the road. We were travelling down the M23; we were about 30 minutes out. I had the best of Blur playing; I probably didn't have the music taste you'd expect from a secret agent. Victoria was staring at me profusely.

"You drugged me!" She barked.

"Well." I paused to think if I could sugar coat it in some way, I had nothing. "Yes, yes I did."

"Why?"

"You wouldn't let me put the bag on and I couldn't just let you walk out of there. I'm hidden away for good reason."

She didn't respond. She slumped back into her chair and crossed her arms in a huff. A few minutes of tense silence went by; luckily 'Country House' came on, so at least I was in a good mood. After a little she took herself of her angry stance and turned to me.

"So what about you?" she asked.

"What about me?"

"You know so much about me, pretty much everything. Yet I know pretty much nothing about you. All I know is The Spy Master calls you _Striker_. Is that like a codename or something?"

"Nope. That's my surname." I answered, keeping my eyes forward on the road.

"Striker?" She gave me a questioning looking. "You're surname is _Striker_. Come on, this isn't an action movie. What's your first name?"

"Frost."

"Frost? Frost Striker?" She continued to give me that glare. "You parent's named you Frost Striker?"

"No, I chose the name myself. You can call me Striker or Frost; call me Frost Striker if you feel so inclined. Though I should warn, it's a bit of a mouthful."

"Alright. Frost. How were you recruited?"

"That's classified. Sorry."

"Where you're from?"

"Classified"

"Family?"

"Classified"

"What did you study at school?"

"Classified"

"Well, do you have an hobbies, what about passions?"

"Well I can answer that one."

"Really." She felt overjoyed, finally being able to get somewhere. "What's your passion?"

"I haven't got one." Victoria frowned; having me lulled her into a sense of joy. I felt kind of bad. "Look Vic. Do you mind if I call you Vic?" she nodded silently, "I'm on an official records so I don't exactly exist as a person. So not existing can stop you from getting out a lot." I gave her a reassuring smile and she returned the expression. We didn't for the rest of the journey; we just listened to beauty that was Blur.

After another 20 minutes of driving we arrived at St. James Street. I pulled up on the curb and turned to Vic.

"We're here."

* * *

**The Plot thickens. I'll keep going with the writing. Hopefully I'll be able to make up for lost time. Don't forget to Review! And who knows, if you enjoyed it favourite it or follow it. Either way its your choice I'm not going to force you**


	6. Confession

**What's this? Another chapter? In only one day? Sometimes I even surprise myself. Yeah Gladrag, I think 'fics' is the right word. So this one's a little more actiony. Enjoy**

* * *

We got out of the car and surveyed the area. Place was quiet, it wasn't disserted but was just quiet in a calm. There wasn't really anything there. A café, a pub and a couple of small guesthouses. I stood on the corner of St. James Street and tried to get into the mindset of this leak and then it hit me. Directly across the street, a church, St. Arnold's church. No one who was morally ethical would storm and search a house of God. Luckily for us, Blizzard wasn't exactly an ethical unit. I called over Vic.

"We'll check the church." I stated, clearly from her expression she had her reserves. "Don't worry, I'm very respectful of holy ground. I won't damage the church's interior." I flashed another reassuring smile. I searched through my pockets and took out the orange tub of painkillers and took two more. "Right, lets get go." We made our way toward the church.

We slowly climbed the small set of stone steps leading up to the tall rock arch and the through the large dark wooden doors. The church had a chill to it with its apparent ice-cold pillars that stood at different points of the church. There was a long purple carpet that led down the middle between the multiple rows of pews and straight to the alter at the very end, with a light brown wooden cross above it. The church was almost completely empty, just the priest in his long white and blow cloth and a few men who sat and stood near the front. Above the whole room there was a large chandelier style set of lights. After only a few moments I knew it.

"This is the place." I whispered as I turned to face her.

"Are you sure?" She whispered back.

"Positive. Look at this place. There isn't a single elderly person here. Every church here in England will have at least one pensioner. And it's about 12 o'clock." I continued to explain, "The Priest hasn't started his afternoon service and their meant to have one, regardless of numbers." I looked around the room once more. "And those guys at the front, what would you say, early to mid 30's? What 30-year-old goes to church in the middle of the day? Then there's the fact none of them are actually praying." I looked out towards the outside. "You should head back and wait outside encase this all goes south while I'm investigating this place." I said encase like there was the possibility of this **NOT** going to shit. She gave an understanding smile and exited.

I walked over to a small confession box on the right side of the room. As I made my way closer to the box the priest headed for it too. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. I sat inside the small dark booth and waited for the priest to get in on the other side. We sat in silence for a moment; I could faintly see an outline of him through the _window_.

"It is ok my child, confession your sins." The priest finally spoke.

"Well father, I've done many a bad thing." I responded. "Terrible things. I've hurt many people."

"My child, the devil taints and challenges us every day. It is only until you accept our Lord Father into your heart may you begin you're journey of reconcile in the eyes of our Lord."

"I cannot Father, I still must to another terrible act. I must hurt another man."

"Please my child, allow me to help you to start your journey. Who is this man?"

"That's my worry father, I do not know who he is. I just know he is a traitor."

I waited for some kind of reaction; see if I could get anything off him. There was a long silence and then suddenly I heard a click and I knew that wasn't a good sign. I quickly ducked forward as there was a raging bang and the wooden window was blown to pieces. I hurled myself through the door and landed on the ground. I quickly turned onto the back as the other door open. I was able to pull out my revolver as the priest appeared, holding a standard issue pump-action shotgun. I fired two rounds into him, his body shook, dropping the shotgun and falling back into the booth. I looked down the aisle and saw one of the men charging up the aisle, firing an Uzi submachine gun. I rolled along the ground, grabbing the shotgun and dodging the hail bullets that were striking the ground behind me. As soon as there was a break in the firing I stopped and fired the shotgun point blank at the man and he was through backward on impact. I jumped up and was met by more gunfire from the other men on the other end of the church. I ducked down for cover behind the pews and slowly made my way to the back of the church. I pinned down. With 3 of them it was a continuous screen of bullets, I couldn't get a good round off. I fired the shotgun blankly towards them but no luck.

From my cover I could spot the chain that held the lights up. The lights were wide enough to create a decent amount of damage. I had to get it in one I couldn't waste the bullets. I took a deep breath to focus myself. I lined up my shot and squeezed the trigger. Lucky shot. The chain snapped and the lights began to fall. I peeked over the pews to watch its impact. Sparks flew everywhere and the lights smashed into one of the men's heads and then crushed him. The remaining men took cover. As the lights crashed the main doors opened and Vic entered, her face instantly turned to shock and she froze at the scene in front of her. She just stood there and the men began to move out of cover again. I raced toward Vic and tackled her into cover and out of harm's reach. She was lying upon the ground looking up and me as I loomed over her.

"I thought I told you to stay outside?" I asked

"Well I heard a bang. I just wanted to check on you." Her pupils were dilating and she was looking flustered, must have been realisation she could of died moments ago.

"Hey, you!" A croaky voice said from behind us. I twisted behind me and shot the man and I snapped back to Vic.

"Just stay here until I say so." I ordered.

I looked back up, just one left. I slinked to the end of the pew, next to the middle aisle. I was out of shotgun ammo so I decided to just charge the last one. I sprinted down the aisle and the man lifted himself to fire I dived forward into a combat while the bullets flew overhead. I then jumped up and fired my last two rounds into him.

"Clear!" I called out. Vic slowly appeared from behind one of the pillars. "Look around for anything that looks suspicious or out of place." Vic was starting to look nervous and reluctant to move. "Don't worry. They're dead. Though they may twitch, it's just a muscle spasm. Vic cautiously stepped over the corpse and started look around the room. I searched also, trying to stay in the mindset. "If I were to hide secrets, where would I put them?" I quietly said to myself.

The Alter, that's it. I made my way up to it, it wall long, sleek and white. I ran my fingers along the underside of it to see if there was a switch or a button. I found a button, Bingo. I pressed it and part of the top of the table slid open, sounding like when doors opened in Star Trek. Once it opened Vic joined me to investigate. We gazed inside to find a thick folder. This must have been some kind of safe drop-box.

Suddenly a door behind us flew open and stormed out another one of the men. He flung a throwing knife at us and I quickly got Vic out of the way. I then charged at the man karate kicked him, sending him backwards onto his back. I turned back to Vic who was huddled down on the ground.

"You alright?" I asked. She just nodded. I went back to the table to grab the file. I lent in and picked it up. As I was moved back I looked over at Vic. She was staring at me; eyes wide open like a dear caught in the headlights. "What?"

"Knife. You. The. Have. A." She nervously stuttered. "You have a knife in your back!" She finally got out. I turned to look over my shoulder and a knife handle quickly met my gaze. A very close knife handle. I gave a slight scuff.

"Well it's more in the shoulder than the back but I guess they're equally as awkward."

"We need to get you to a hospital!" the panic continued to rise in her tone.

"No, No." I rejected. "No hospitals. We'll have to go to The Doc."

"The Doc?"

"Well I guess it's time for you to meet the team."

* * *

**Action Packed I know right!? What's in the file? Who's 'The Doc'? And Will Striker survive the knife wound? Tune in next time for another exciting installment of THE RAT RACE! Don't forget to review. also, tell me what you think of his name?**


	7. What up Doc?

**Right, well, back again. Super sorry for any of you who have been expecting a chapter for the past few weeks, maybe a month...or more. I've been very busy, who knew a degree would require so much work. 3 rather big essays. I won't bother you with the extremely tough themes. I have 3 things to announce**

**1: Yes, Gladrag, it is Taken where Liam Neeson doesn't exactly ask questions. Got the job done though. wee little piece of trivia; I've met Liam Neeson and NO its not because all Northern Irish people know each other.**

**2: So that its not just all action I'm writing chapters from Vic's perspective, tell me how you like it would you kindly.**

**3: I started this story before I watched "The Bourne Legacy" (good movie, would recommend it) so there may be some similarities in plot aspects**

* * *

I can't help but stare at him. A knife. There's a knife in his back, and he's laughing? His laughter slowly quietens down and he starts to look a tad comfortable. He grabs one of the dead men's guns and shoots the unconscious man. He then turns to me.

"We have to go?" He states as he hands me the files and leads the way out of the church. I follow behind. He holds his right arms close to his side. I can see blood running down the back of his jacket out of the end of his sleeve and onto his hand.

We exit and there's a small curious crowd gathering. We swiftly move past them and to the car. He opens the boot down and opens up a large first aid kit. He tries to get a proper grip on the knife handle but can't quite get it.

"You're going to have to take it out for me."

"Wait? Me? I can't."

"You're the only one who can." He says. I keep looking around encase someone's watching. He takes the rest of his pills in the bottle and turns his back to me. "Don't worry, it's kind of like ripping of a plaster. Do it quickly and everything will be fine."

I slowly wrap my fingers around the handle. I give a light tug and it seems like its completely stuck but he reassures me that I just need a bit more of force. I take a deep breath and compose myself. I pull it quickly with all my force and slides out. Dripping in blood, it feels so weird to be holding. He turns back to me smiling as he removes his jacket and top and tosses them into the boot. He then dresses the wound. I inspect his body, his fairly muscular but there's scars, scars everyone. Too many scars to ask about.

"That should hold until we get to Doc's." He says. I snap out my daydream.

"Who's Doc?" I inquire again.

"He's the man we go. We can't just show up at hospitals with gun and knife wounds, drags up far too much attention." He tosses me the car keys, "here you drive." I get into the drivers seat while he hops into the back, lying down across the chairs. "Type in 'DOC' into the GPS and it will show you where to go."

I type it in and it comes up.

"**DOC- 220B, Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, London"**

I began to driving, trying my best to look casual as the police cars and ambulances sped past towards the church. Every once and a while I looked over my shoulder at him. Him was passed out, sprawled across the seats. He lay there like a rock, moaning softly from time to time. Then there was complete silence, he didn't make a sound, he was just lying there. I thought I should do something but I didn't want to stop the car, try and make things worst. So I just kept going. I turned on the radio the clear the silence. I flicked through the set channels. 104.9-XFM. All five channels. I decided to tune through channels manually. I finally reached out playing some good. A bit of Taylor Swift, it always cleared my head.

Suddenly halfway through the song there was massive smash and thick crackling. Looking down at the radio I saw a small stiletto knife jammed into it. I then looked back to see Frost sitting half up, face looking half asleep and his hand up aimed at the radio, clearly having just thrown the knife. And as quickly as he was up, he was back down into his slumber. Though this time he was snoring, so at least I day a sign he was alive.

"Turn left." Said the cold female voice, which gave me jolt. I focused back onto the road and followed the direction, making multiple twists and turns through Brixton. "You have reached your destination." I kept looking around I didn't quite get it. The street just had some small shops but mainly houses.

I got out and opened the passenger door to Frost. I lend over him and tapped him on the arm. He suddenly snapped aware with a clenched fist, almost punching him but luckily realised it was me before it was to late.

"We're at Doc's, I think." I told him.

"Terrific." He said as he sat forward. I looked over his shoulder at where he had been sitting. Blood. There were bloodstains everywhere across the back seat. I looked back at him in worry. He was as white as a ghost "I'm gonna lie back down for a while." He then flopped back down. I climbed on top of him to check for a pulse. As I placed my fingers on his neck he began to mumble. "Down the steps…..There is a door….. In his hand Anthony held an Ace, A King and a Joker." And then he was out cold.

I had to act fast. I got out and saw the steps he was talking about. They led down to a metal. I banged on the door praying for a speedy response. A small window slid open, too small to see anyone on the other side.

"Hello? Is Doc there?" I shyly asked. All of a sudden the barrel of a gun was sticking out through the window and into my face. My heart it the floor.

"What cards was he holding?" A mysterious demanded from the other side.

"I'm with Frost"

"What cards!?" He yelled. I couldn't think, my heart stopped and my mind was buzzing.

"An Ace!" I blurted. "An Ace. A King. A Joker."

The door swung open. There stood a well build man. Clean-shaven and with blonde hair with an executive haircut. With cream trousers and a light blue shirt he stood with his arms crossed and a serious look on his face.

"What do you want?"

"I'm here with Frost." He looked at waiting for me to explain. "He's been injured." The man sighed with a light chuckle.

"What's he done now? Broken both his thumbs? Stabbed? Shot?" He asked as he made his way up the steps.

"Stabbed. A man through a knife at him and it hit him in the back….I mean shoulder." I explained as I followed up him. We reached street level and he began to look around, the place was deserted. He peaked inside to look at Frost and then dragged him out of the car, blood trailing behind him, and then flung him over his shoulder and brought him inside. We got him this apparent home and straight into the kitchen. The man swiped everything off the metal table in the centre and lay Frost down on his front. I lent down to check for any response from him, nothing. Suddenly I heard the cocking of a gun. I slowly stood up and looked across the table. The man had yet another gun pointed in my face.

"Who are you?" He asked. I couldn't think, I couldn't just say the cards again. "What's your authorization code?" I was stuck, I remember being given a new code but I was just blank. I couldn't think with a gun in my face, how could anyone? "Are you with Rexsan?" Still nothing and he looked ready to fire. Suddenly Frost began to mumble again. The man lent down to Frost while still aiming the gun at me. I couldn't hear were Frost was saying but whatever it was from the look on his face the man understood. Frost stopped talking and he looked right back at me. Then all of a sudden he was smiling.

"Hi." He said putting his gun away and putting out his hand to shake. I was still frozen and couldn't extend mine so he just pulled back. "Mitch, Mitch Dockens. Most people, including Frost, just call me Doc. And your name?"

"Andrea Stone, sir." I was able to get out words. Mitch smirked.

"You don't need to call me sir." He then sudden remembered why we were here. He grabbed a box of medical utensils from the cabinet. He pulled off the badge, now soaked in blood, and inspected the cut. "Big knife I presume, probably combat." He then got out some towels and to absorb the blood still gushing from the cut. "Now, Victoria. You might wanna sit outside for a while, this might get a bit messy."

So I sat in the other room. It was a living room but it felt a lot like a waiting room. An hour went by of me waiting, pacing back and forth and biting my nails. A day on the job of being a field agent and my team leader almost dies, almost dies from saving me. It just kept racing through my head. The kitchen door finally opened and Mitch exited, with blood covered head and bloodstains across his neat blue shirt. My jaw nearly hit the floor and my throat shut, unable to breath. That was it. I was done.

"Right I've been able to stop the bleeding and stitch up the wound. He's resting now and will be out for quite a while." He explained.

Resting. Dead people don't rest right? So he's alive.

"So I'll keep him here for the night and you can get home." Sounded like a good plan. I gathered my things and began to leave.

"So Mitch, what exactly are you?" I turned and inquired just before heading out the door.

"Well," he looked around himself and his surroundings, confused by the question. "I'm a doctor. I do work for covert operations. I'm like Frost's GP." Well that was that solved and so I began to leave. "Victoria." He called. "Leave the car, we'll have to get rid of that."

And then I was gone. I found a phone box and decided to call the Spy Master. It rang and rang and rang

"Hello?" The Spy Master answered.

"Lynn, it's Victoria. Something's happened."

"What do you mean _happened_?"

"ummm," I wasn't sure what to call Frost to her. "Its Frost, he got injured.

"Christ"

"But I was able to his doctor friend. Mitch."

"That's a relief. Ok what I want you to do now is, well, do nothing. Just standby for more orders. I'll call you." Then she just hung up.

So that was my first day in this elite unit. A unit I knew absolutely nothing about. My leader/partner/_mentor_ drugged me, then later saved my life and almost bleed to death in the backseat of a car after I yanked a knife out of him. And now I had left him with almost a complete strange. And now my orders were to 'Do Nothing.'

* * *

**So I'm back with a brand new Rap, with no lyrical rhythm or remotely rhyming words. Well tell me what you think. Please Review. **


	8. The Folder

**Ok, I'd just like to apologise for not updating in quite a significant amount of time. I've been real busy. 3 essay, totalling 11,500 words when added. And then there's the exams. University, takes up your time. But now I'm don't, I've started my summer and am completely free. I'm going to do my upmost best to finish this story**

* * *

I was stuck sitting in this café, trying to drink my latte with these shaking hands. Do nothing? How could I do nothing? Less than 2 days ago I was just an analyst with absolutely no field experience, or training for that matter, which was now in possession of a folder that is most definitely packs with information that was a matter of national security. Information that had just been stolen from a group of heavily armed, trained killers. No wonder my hands were shaking.

Should I open the file? It's got to be important. But what if its booby- trapped? Can I risk it? Or am I just overthinking this way too much. My hands were still shaking as I go to open the file. I took a quick look around the half empty café for anything suspicious. I slowly opened the file, shutting my eyes tight as I did so. If it was booby-trapped, I didn't want to see it coming. Then, nothing happened. I opened one eye to see what was going on, and then the other. Everything was ok, well as _ok_ has it could get in my particular circumstance. I began to flick through the file.

There was a page that just had a long of name but just first names, nothing to go on there. Another was crumpled and just had numbers scribbled words across it. As I went to continue suddenly my phone, which was on vibrate and on the coffee table in front of me, began to ring. The sudden loud buzzing against the wood made my jump and almost screamed but luckily held myself together to that extent. I quickly snapped it up to answer.

"Hello?" I asked sheepishly

"Victoria." Said the Spy Master on the other end of the line. "We have to meet. Can you come round to my place?"

"Of course ma'am. I'll come over right away." I answered and the phone hung up straight away. I packed up every in a rush and headed to the counter to get a coffee to go. As they made the coffee I couldn't help but feel paranoid as I used my credit card. Soon they made the coffee and I was away out the door.

I hopped straight into a taxi and headed to her house. As I arrived a tall security guard in a suit stopped me. I rummaged through my jacket to get my security pass and showed it to him. Upon inspection he let my pass. I wondered into the house and headed straight forward into her well-polished kitchen, where she was sat at the kitchen table waiting for me, gripping a coffee cup.

"Good you're here." She said, "You've got the file." She gave a faint smile as I sat opposite her.

"So where do we go from here?" I asked, raring to go but she didn't answer and completely avoided my gaze. "What's the matter?"

"It's SKUL. They, they…" She began to say before taking a long pause to compose herself. "We've finished them. The Grand Master, we finally caught him."

"That's great. Who got him?"

"One of the teams from our M. I. High programme." She replied but she didn't seem happy about it.

"So why are you so sad about it?"

"Well," She took another pause. "When we captured him, we put him in M.I.9's tightest maximum security prison. In that there isn't thing we wouldn't know about. There we see everything. And," She took a deep breath, "Someone was just able to stroll in a kill him. They put a bullet in between his eyes, and there isn't a single trace of anyone setting foot anywhere near him."

"I, I, I don't know what to say." I hadn't a clue, and I don't even know why I decided to announce that I had nothing out loud. I guess I wanted something to come out of my mouth.

"It gets worse." She gripped her cup tighter. "Almost straight after the destruction of SKUL there came a new threat, an old threat. And I think they are the ones behind our leak."

"Who?"

"KORPS." She responded quietly, as if she was scared to even say the word.

"Who's KORPS?" I enquired, completely confused.

"They were like the soviets for internal British security." Said a familiar northern voice from behind me. I turned around to see him stand, leaning on the doorframe. "But with less threat of nuclear war. And last I checked you thought you burnt them to the ground."

* * *

**Yes I know, short chapter but I'm not in the flow yet. Hopefully I'll get there soon. Also, as I'm weaving into the new series I'm going to need help. It's hard to find episodes to watch online for research, and wiki and wikia are useless. If you have watched the most recent series and are interested in helping me, please mention in the review so that I can ask questions when stuck. Thank you...And don't forget to review. **


End file.
